Communications and Information Minister Rudiantara has called Indonesians to uninstall virtual private networks (VPN) from their devices after the government ended its move to limit the use of social media in response to post-election riots.

“The Communications and Information Ministry has called on users of cellular phones and other gadgets to uninstall VPNs to avoid the risk of monitoring, collection and piracy of their personal data,” Rudiantara said in a press statement on Saturday.

He said the decision to restore people’s ability to send photographs, pictures and video through instant social media messaging was made after the government had assessed that situation had become secure, following violent street rallies that lead to the deaths of at least eight people.

He called on netizens not to use social media to spread hoaxes and provocative and hateful content. “The users of instant messaging and file sharing services have to guard the virtual world and use it positively,” the minister said.

He also called on the public to report social media misuse to aduankonten.id or the twitter account @aduankonten.

Netizens began complaining after encountering difficulties using Whatsapp, Facebook and Instagram on May 22.

The government said access was limited to prevent the circulation of provocative photographs, videos and other content related to the post-election protests. (bbn)